So a friend of mine and I headed out last night to a fundraiser for skin-cancer awareness or prevention or research or… well, obviously that wasn’t the part that I paid attention to. The part that I paid attention to was this: it was in a restaurant, and there would be appetizers and cocktails for us. And there would also be some spa giveaways and a silent auction. The evening was going to be put on by a local spa. Doesn’t that sound great?
Honestly, it sounded great to me when I read about it. Last night, however, after an unfortunate incident with my lunch at work (there was a dead bug involved, you can guess the rest), I was staaaaaarving by the time I left my office. The problem with the spa fundraiser night, really, was that it was not downtown. It was not near the Skytrain line. So that was the end of that plan, my friend and I immediately scrapped it and headed for…
Steamworks! It happens to the best of us. We were starving, we were tired from a day of hard work, and we really needed a pitcher of mojitos.
Immediately upon sitting down, we flagged down our lovely server and asked her for a plate of yam fries and a pitcher of mojitos. The yam fries disappeared in seconds! We did show some restraint and managed to make the mojitos last throughout the meal. We ordered some of the best pizza on earth – I got one with kalamata olives, basil and tomatoes and my friend’s had something like bacon and feta on it – and inhaled it almost as quickly as we did the yam fries. I managed to save two pieces for lunch today and it was absolutely the best leftover pizza I have ever had. There is no doubt about it. I usually only eat leftover pizza because I can’t stand to throw away perfectly good food. I usually barely tolerate leftover pizza, but leftover Steamworks pizza is a whole new story. I would welcome leftover Steamworks pizza as my lunch any day of the week. Maybe even every day of the week! It really is that good.
Sometimes it’s nice to try a new restaurant or bar. And I do love trying new restaurants and bars! But sometimes it’s nice to go somewhere familiar, a place that you know is always great.
It has happened to me more than once, where I’ve headed downtown with a new restaurant or lounge in mind and then I’ve gotten sidetracked and headed to Steamworks, beside Waterfront Station. I know that Steamworks will never let me down!
I have not yet had a bad experience at Steamworks. The food is always good, even if I try something experimental (Proscutto Salad) instead of my regular favourite, the Santa Fe Salad.
The best part of going there is sharing a pitcher of Mojitos with a friend. The waiters don’t look at you judgmentally for splitting a whole pitcher between two people. They’ll even offer you another if you finish it!
If you’ve looked out your window today you may have noticed that the weather is terrible. It’s cold, windy and rainy. It’s just a typical March day in Vancouver, right?
I surprised myself by finding and trying out not just one, but TWO Italian cafés this week, without specifically looking for them. The first was Caffe Buongiorno, and the second is Sciué Italian Bakery Caffe, at Pender and Howe.
I was actually headed for the
I didn’t try the pastries today, as this has been a pretty sweet-laden week for me already, but I did try the coffee.
This was possibly the most amazing latte I have ever had in my life. I think the best way to explain it is that normally, I take sugar in my coffee -- two packets per cup of coffee. But this latte was so divine, so frothy, and the coffee so perfect already, that I added no sugar.
I have to reiterate that I can’t even think of one single time in the past when I have not added sugar to my coffee. This latte was absolutely amazing.
I discovered a delightful little café this week, the Caffe Buongiorno (I may be spelling that incorrectly) at Pender and Richards. It reminded me of a little European café that you might find in that French movie Amélie, with a high coffee counter, little tables and chairs with curly-cue legs and a mosaic tile floor.
I tried a chicken panini for lunch, and I was a little worried when I ordered it, thinking there might be nothing but chicken inside. Thankfully, I was wrong, and my panini had some grilled veggies and a mild but gooey melted cheese, too.
My latte was also fantastic, and it was served in a wide coffee cup with a saucer. These always remind me of Europe because when I was going to school in
The Caffe Buongiorno is highly recommended for the next time you feel like having lunch in a European café without actually going to
So last night was not bad. Of course, I headed out to Café Crepe. Again. And we had the surly waiter. Again. He alternated between mildly nice and surly through the evening. I can’t blame him, really, it was super busy and he was saying that there were a ton of groups of six or more coming in all night. If you’ve been there, you know that it is not very big and most of the booths can’t really fit six people. Although, we managed quite nicely. It was cozy.
The music at some points turned into what I like to think of as “euro techno background” music. How to describe it? It sounds like what I think would be playing in European night clubs. I have to use my imagination on that one, mind you, because I have never been to any European night clubs, but it’s exactly what I would imagine them playing there.
I actually got a crepe this time. It was a dessert crepe – because crepes were not meant to be savoury. I just don’t understand why you would put meat or vegetables in a crepe, it destroys it. But if you fill it with Nutella and coconut and dump some whipped cream on it, then you get a truly delicious crepe. Absolutely amazing.
Do I need to describe the martinis again? I branched out, and this time instead of just drinking cosmopolitans, I mixed it up with a sour apple martini. It took a couple sips before the Nutella taste washed away, but once that was gone it was a great martini.
The weather this weekend has been delightful, and I think it was almost 15 degrees here today. I saw a girl on the Skytrain yesterday wearing a strappy summer dress with no coat! It really is spring already! Fantastic!
I have some time off this week and am hoping to check out some new cafés downtown and try to find some good ones that aren’t chains. Although I find it hard to believe that Starbucks haven’t driven everyone else out of town, apparently there are still a few other places kicking around so I am going to check them out.
